Credit: The Associated Press

A police officer carries a child who appears to be unconscious after a boat carrying asylum seekers sank off Java island, in Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 24, 2013.

Credit: The Associated Press

Rescuers carry the body of a victim killed after a boat carrying asylum seekers sank off Java island, in Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 24, 2013.

Credit: The Associated Press

A rescuer carries a child after a boat carrying asylum seekers sank off Java island, in Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 24, 2013.

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BANDUNG, Indonesia — Rescuers were searching for several asylum seekers believed to be missing from a boat that sank off Indonesia while heading to Australia. Nearly 190 survivors were brought to safety and nine bodies were recovered.

The sinking occurred days after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd changed Australia's refugee policy so that people who arrive by boat will no longer be allowed to settle in the country. The move was a response to domestic political pressure and a string of deadly accidents involving rickety boats packed with asylum seekers bound for Australia.